1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleansing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to soap bar holding devices for use when bathing.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been many attempts to provide a convenient and inexpensive holder for a soap bar for use in a bath or shower. A common problem with soap bars is that they tend to slip out of the users hand when wet. Such well known devices such as a soap bar molded around a portion of a suspending cord or rope have been widely used. A problem which has not been adequately addressed is the usefulness of the device as the soap bar dissipates. Only limited choices of soap are available specially molded onto or around the device. It would be desirable to provide a holder for standard soap bars which prevents slippage from the hand when wet, aids in the distribution on the skin while aiding in lathering and scrubbing the skin, and which is adjustable as a soap bar dissipated in use. It would further be desirable to provide a holder which may be easily dried, along with the soap bar by hanging in ambient air and preferably has a hanging feature which allows attachment to a nearby bath wall. It would also be desirable to provide such a holder which allows the soap bar to be held in the palm of the hand during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,262, issued Dec. 6, 1988, to Sanchez, describes a soap holding cleaning pad apparatus including a mesh forming portion, a handle, and an opening sealed with a hook and loop material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,834, issued Oct. 21, 1980 to Desnick, describes a soap bag formed of a plastic mesh with VELCRO fasteners for closing the bag. A loop segment is provided for attachment of a strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,125, issued Nov. 22, 1994, to Procido, describes a mesh soap container with an elastic loop for hanging on the user""s neck and having an opening in the top surface. The opening is bordered by elastic for the insertion and removal of the soap bar.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a mesh netting to hold soap solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
A tubular mesh netting soap holder and dispenser has a handle reaching around the user""s hand. The mesh netting is of fabric or similar material and is held in a wide slot at one end of the handle and encases the soap bar inserted through an opposite end opening. A VELCRO(copyright) loop material closure strap having loop material on its inner side is attached to the tubular mesh at its end opening. The loop material closure strap threads through a smaller slot at the other end portion of the handle. There may be more than one concentric tube of mesh netting employed.
There is a VELCRO(copyright) hook material patch mounted on the top of the handle near the narrow slot which mates with Velcro(copyright) loop, material closure strap on its inner side, once threaded through the smaller slot and pulled snug. As the soap bar becomes smaller during use, the VELCRO(copyright) loop material closure strap is detached, pulled through the smaller slot until snug again, and mounted at an inward position on the handle VELCRO(copyright) hook material to maintain the mesh tight around the soap bar. The handle is generally xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d shaped with the wide slot holding end portion being the cross portion of the xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d and the narrow slot being at the tail thereof. The hook material patch mounted along the strip portion on the top of the handle and the mating loop material on the inside of the closure strap form a means for adjustably and removably mounting the closure strap to the top side of the handle.
In another embodiment, the handle has a suction cup mounted near the cross portion of the handle and projecting outward from the top of the handle to serve as a means for mounting the soap holder on a bath wall when not in use. The soap and holder dry, easily in ambient air when the holder is so mounted. In use, the user""s hand is placed between the handle and the mesh holding the soap so that the hand grasps the mesh encased soap. The soap is then wetted and distributed through the netting on the users skin, for washing. The mesh netting assists in lathering and scrubbing the skin during soap application to the skin.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a tubular mesh netting soap bar holder, allowing a nonslip grasp of the soap bar in the palm of the user""s hand.
It is another object of the invention to provide a soap bar holder as above having a handle supporting the mesh net, the handler being arranged to be placed over the back of the user""s hand, providing for positive attachment of the holder to the hand.
It is a further object of the invention to provide for adjustment of the size of the tubular mesh netting of the soap bar holder as above so as to allow for a positive grasp of a soap bar as it dissipates and reduces in size during repeated use.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a soap bar holder as above having a suction device mounted on the handle of the holder for mounting on a bath wall for easy drying of the soap bar and holder in ambient air when not in use.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.